One post....

And a whole bunch of overdue sneak peeks...

My inspiration...

So, this is a bit late, but....

Happy 15th Birthday, Holley!!!


Without a doubt, my oldest daughter inspires me to do bigger and better things with my life. She helps me see the little things that I too often overlook. She causes me to think long and hard before I make any sudden moves concerning my latest obsession. She is my firstborn, my baby girl, and the one who is content to cuddle with me under the covers at 8am on Sunday mornings. We share coffee and fight over the last bit of vanilla caramel coffee creamer. She sends me late night text messages from her best friend's house wanting an icing recipe. Cookies with icing at 10pm!?!?...only my daughter could think of that one. She wears mascara, lip gloss, big chunky jewelry, striped fuzzy socks, and softball cleats. She has an algebra book in one hand and her cell phone in the other. She is bubbly, gregarious, loud, smart, beautiful, endearing, vivacious, and most of all....my child. I am so proud to be her Mama. She is growing up faster than I could have ever imagined when I brought her home from the hospital 15 years ago. I am in love with the gorgeous young lady she has become. And, I treasure her lively spirit more than life itself. Thank the Lord for blessing me with such a fantastic child. I am blessed beyond words.

An update and a Giveaway!!!

Well folks, it has been one year since I started this "photography thing". A lot has happened in that year, some good things and some bad. I have learned a few lessons {some of them hard} and had the opportunity to meet some truly fabulous people. My photos have gotten better and I have gained a ton of confidence along the way. Overall, I think this has been a super start to something I never thought I could do. I am looking forward to 2011 with great expectation and I simply can't wait to see what God has in store for next year.

On another note, last night I was brainstorming some ideas trying to figure out how to tie Christmas in with what I wanted to do this week. This is what I have come up with....

I am going to give away a full photo session ($150 value) to one lucky family!!

Here are the details:

Being that I don't want to just choose a random winner, I am going to ask you to invest some time into this for me. I want you to nominate a family for this giveaway...someone you feels deserves or maybe can't afford to pay for a custom photo session. This can be someone who has been struggling financially due to the economy or a single mother and her children. It can be a military family whose loved one is coming home for the holidays or a victim of domestic violence. It can be your best friend, your mother, your neighbor, or the young widow down the street. I am not restricting this session at all, so it can even be a family with a precious new baby or a lovely expectant mother. Anything goes.

All you need to do is write 1-2 paragraphs detailing why you feel the person you are nominating deserves this free session. Then, email me at jackierenee@cox (dot) net and attach your paragraphs either as a word document or in the body of the email. Submissions will start today, November, 15 at 12:00 noon and end at 11:59am on Monday, November 29. I will send you a confirmation email to let you know I received your submission. After all submissions are in, I will then narrow it down to 6 families and I will forward those emails to another person. I will NOT be choosing the winner. A winner will be chosen on December 1, 2010 and I will announce this on my blog and facebook fan page.

Here are the rules:

1. You must be a fan of my facebook photography page, which can be found here.

2. You can only nominate one family.

3. You must include in the email their names and a phone number where they can be reached.

4. Clearly explain why you feel they deserve a free session.

5. You can nominate ANYONE you wish. However, they must live in Benton, Washington, Madison, or Boone county, Arkansas or Delaware county, Oklahoma.

The winner will receive:

One free 2-3 hour custom photo session. One free matted/framed 8x10 of their choice. And, 8-10 digital images on a disk with a copyright release for personal use printing. This is a $150 value.

Thank you in advance for the time and effort I know you all will put into this. I can't wait to read your emails!!

Baby Braxton-Sneak Peek

I have to offer an apology for not getting these photos on my blog sooner. So, I am sorry.

On a better note, I recently met with this sweet boy and his beautiful mommy for his two month session. And, let me tell ya, this baby stole my heart. He is so sweet and super cuddly!! It took us a full two hours to get this little fella to sleep, but once he was out we got some really great shots!!

Now, if that doesn't make you want another baby, nothing will. Precious!!

Shafer Family

I am a little late getting this posted, but these pictures are totally worth the wait. I had the pleasure of meeting with Troy and Julie (Troy has known my sweet husband for years) one Sunday for a family photo session. It was hot, humid, and sticky, but we managed to get some great shots despite the weather. I even got too close to the creek at one point (not remembering all the rain we had just days before) and silly me, with my Yellow Box flip flops on, went down in the mud. Yes, you read that right....I slipped in the mud. It was all over my pants, my hands, and ground into my wedding band. Oh well, at least I saved the camera!! I got up, cleaned myself off, and kept right on shooting. We had a few good laughs about it later.

I am thrilled with the way these pictures came out and I really hope Troy and Julie love them as much as I do. I had so much fun with you guys and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Okay, enough of my babbling....on to the pictures!!!!

















And, just for fun.... I love this!!!